As It Is - Trending Today: White House Joins Snapchat

The White House is officially on Snapchat（照片和视频分享软件“阅后即焚”）. The announcement came ahead of President Barack Obama’s final State of the Union address on Tuesday night.

Followers of the White House Snapchat will get a behind-the-scenes look at the final preparations before Obama’s speech. The White House is also streaming the State of the Union on YouTube and, for the first time, on the Amazon website.

The White House said in a blog post that the Snapchat account adds to its social media presence. The blog said it was part of the administration’s strategy of "meeting people where they are" and providing Americans with a "multitude of ways to engage with their government."

Snapchat has 100 million daily users.

Snapchat also has an official #SOTU -- or "State of the Union" -- live story. Fellow politicians have tweeted about taking part in the live story:

The White House account’s first Snapchat was a photo of the Oval Office:

​Over on Twitter, where the hashtag #SOTU trended worldwide ahead of the speech, one user hinted that the White House pets have already made an appearance on Snapchat:

Snapchat is a mobile application that permits users to receive photos and videos that disappear after they are viewed. However, the White House’s Snapchats cannot legally disappear. Government rules require presidential administrations to keep official records.

That means all White House snaps will be preserved for history.

And that’s What’s Trending Today.

I’m Ashley Thompson.
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Words in This Story

ahead - adj. in or toward the front; before

behind-the-scenes - adj. working or happening privately, without being seen by the general public